When did you last have a cervical smear? (Sorry to be personal, but this is important.) Were you deterred by having to take time off work for an appointment?

At Beauty Bible, with quite a number of women on our team, we're supporting the new Time to Test Campaign - launching today - which sets out to encourage employers to allow female employees to get tested during work time, if they can't get an appointment outside working hours.

There's lots of evidence that this really acts as a deterrent - 26% of women said they'd be encouraged to attend an appointment if it was supported by their employer in this way. As most women know, the test takes just a few minutes - and a pre-cancerous condition (i.e. abnormal cells) can be treated very easily, in contrast to more advanced cervical cancer; it's estimated that 75% of cases of cervical cancer can be prevented through early detection of abnormal cells. (And worth noting: on average, a woman who has cervical cancer suffers an average income loss of £5,000.)

Beauty brand bare Escentuals is supporting the campaign, along with The Female Entrepreneur Association and Intercontinental Hotels Group, who've also signed the pledge to allow women in the workplace to take this time to go for screening.

The pledge is part of the Time to Test Campaign, developed GSK and supported by 'Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust' (NB this is NOT Jo Fairley, but another Jo - a bit confusing!), which is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting those affected by cervical cancer and abnormalities.

For more info and to pledge your support, visit www.time-to-test.com.

And take time to get tested, too...

Can we encourage you to nudge your employer to sign up - or if you're the boss, do it right now?